If the University secures a bid for a National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility, it would put a stamp on Georgia’s status as the infectious diseases research capital of the world, a U.S. senator said.

 

Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., toured a proposed site for the facility, which would serve as a research center within the Department of Homeland Security to fight both agroterrorism and bioterrorism pandemics, on College Station Road Tuesday morning.

 

“This project is probably one of the more significant projects we have seen Georgia have the opportunity to participate in,” Chambliss said.

 

Located adjacent to the Richard B. Russell Agricultural Center, the potential site could house a building larger than 500,000 square feet, which is more than twice as large as the Student Learning Center.

 

University architect Danny Sniff said the building plans would require a level of sophistication to ensure those working with the extremely contagious diseases would not take their work home with them.

 

“It’s not like the movies where people imagine the worst case scenario,” Sniff said.

 

Laboratories would be equipped to work with diseases varying in biosafety levels, Sniff said.

 

Biosafety level two diseases are contracted in tissue, such as blood and water, and level three are contagious, airborne diseases, Sniff said. The most severe diseases, biosafety level four, can be contracted either through tissue or the air, he added.

 

Athens has a “perfect storm” of assets that should make the area an attractive potential site for the DHS, said David Lee, vice president of research.

 

Among these attributes are the Animal Research Center in the College of Veterinary Medicine and the Paul D. Coverdell Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences.

 

 

 

 

Sen. Saxby Chambliss toured the Agricultural Research Service facility Tuesday and spoke to members of the media at the possible site of a National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility. The site on College Station Road is one of 14 sites nationwide the Department of Homeland Security is considering.

 

With at least 14 different sites being considered for the defense facility by the DHS, Georgia will have to compete with many other attractive candidates, Lee said.

 

Texas, Kentucky and California are among the states who have expressed interest in the facility, he said.

 

Lee said he was glad to have Chambliss, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, fighting for the facility on behalf of the state.

 

“We’re hoping for a level playing field,” Lee said in reference to the political process and competition for the center.

 

“Or tilted our way,” Chambliss quipped in response.

 

Chambliss said the project would require communication among the state’s universities and those involved in the field of medicine.

 

“This is not a University of Georgia proposal,” he said. “This is something that would make the whole state proud.”

 

Griff Doyle, director for government relations, said the DHS has allotted $23 million into its yearly budget for site analysis, which might indicate that a decision on the process could come fairly soon.

 

No timetable has been made official, but Doyle said he expected the field of candidates for the facility to be narrowed down by September.

 

“Diseases don’t wait for things to happen,” he said. “So obviously, there is some sense of urgency.”